Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of three water recirculating duration (daytime (07.00h to18.00h); nighttime (18.00h to 07.00h); and 24 hours control) and shading (30%, 60% and no shading control), respectively, on growth and sap's nitrate content of lettuce in a commercial aquaponic system integrated with red tilapia culture. First experiment showed that water recirculating time did not affect the lettuce growth, thus offering the possibility to increase aquaponics profitability by reducing the operational cost. The second experiment revealed that shading affected nitrate content in the sap of the leaf midribs, but it remained in range specified by EU regulations in all treatments. The highest lettuce growth was observed at the rate of 30% shading whereas 60% shading gave the lowest growth (P<0.05).